Skip to main content

Market Overview

Wedbush Likes Voyager's Gene Therapy Pipeline, Initiates At Outperform

Share:
Wedbush Likes Voyager's Gene Therapy Pipeline, Initiates At Outperform

  • Shares of Voyager Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: VYGR) have appreciated 64.79 percent over the past month, with the share price almost at the 52-week high on December 4.
  • Wedbush’s David M. Nierengarten initiated coverage of the company with an Outperform rating and price target of $36.
  • The company is pioneering in AAV-based gene therapy for serious disorders of the central nervous system, which Nierengarten believes is an “ideal site” for gene therapy.
  • Analyst David Nierengarten explained that Voyager Therapeutics has selected various Central Nervous System (CNS) diseases, “with validated, specific gene targets that are amenable to AAV gene therapy.”

    The CNS is an “ideal site for gene therapy due to its “immune privilege” status and terminally-differentiated cells that allow long-term transgene expression,” Nierengarten went on to say.

    VY-AADC01 And Parkinson's

    The company’s lead program, VY-AADC01, is currently being development for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease. The drug aims to restore the expression of an enzyme, AADC, which is responsible for converting L-Dopa to Dopamine, but is progressively lost due to Parkinson’s.

    Therefore, by restoring AADC levels, the drug is expected to help with significant improvement in motor skills, as well as L-Dopa responsiveness.

    Related Link: Piper Jaffray Initiates Coverage On Voyager therapeutics At Overweight

    VY-SOD101 And ALS

    The second pipeline drug is VY-SOD101, which is gene therapy for the treatment of ALS or monogenic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. “VYGR’s other preclinical programs target Friedreich’s ataxia, Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy,” Nierengarten added.

    According to the Wedbush report, Voyager Therapeutics’ pipeline products are backed by robust preclinical data.

    Partnerships Boost Benefits

    In addition, the company’s strategic partnership with Genzyme not only “validates VYGR’s product development platform,” but also “allows leverage of the combined expertise, and provides substantial financial support for VYGR to develop its pipeline,” the report said.

    Image Credit: Public Domain

    Latest Ratings for VYGR

    DateFirmActionFromTo
    Nov 2021Chardan CapitalMaintainsNeutral
    Oct 2021BairdUpgradesNeutralOutperform
    Jun 2021Compass PointInitiates Coverage OnBuy

    View More Analyst Ratings for VYGR

    View the Latest Analyst Ratings

     

    Related Articles (VYGR)

    View Comments and Join the Discussion!

    Posted-In: Analyst Color Biotech Long Ideas Health Care Initiation Top Stories Analyst Ratings Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga

    Latest Ratings

    StockFirmActionPT
    SEDGB of A SecuritiesMaintains411.0
    PTLOPiper SandlerMaintains28.0
    AOUTLake StreetMaintains26.0
    RAPTPiper SandlerMaintains52.0
    OCXLake StreetMaintains6.0
    View the Latest Analytics Ratings
    Don't Miss Any Updates!
    News Directly in Your Inbox
    Subscribe to:
    Benzinga Premarket Activity
    Get pre-market outlook, mid-day update and after-market roundup emails in your inbox.
    Market in 5 Minutes
    Everything you need to know about the market - quick & easy.
    Fintech Focus
    A daily collection of all things fintech, interesting developments and market updates.
    SPAC
    Everything you need to know about the latest SPAC news.
    Thank You

    Thank you for subscribing! If you have any questions feel free to call us at 1-877-440-ZING or email us at vipaccounts@benzinga.com